Years ago, my neighbor adopted an adorable, toy fox terrier which they appropriately named...Tiny Tim. This dog was so petite, a fall from their bed broke his leg! As he matured, he quickly bulked up. At his maximum, he weighed in at a whopping five pounds. It must have been all heart because he protected his domain like a lion protects its pride.
Every day, without fail, I could look across the street and see Tiny Tim at his post. Sitting behind a glass storm door, he would survey his kingdom to identify any threat to his domain. Each day, the same threat strutted by between two and three o'clock: a black and white Persian cat. Tiny would go ballistic; jumping up and down, barking and scratching at the door.
One day my neighbor opened the door just at the moment the cat was parading by the house. Tiny instinctively darted out after his objective. My neighbor shook his head and grumbled, 'That dog is out of control.'
The next time I saw my neighbor, Tiny Tim was on a fifty-foot run leash. The cat strolled by again. Tiny shoots off the starting line, hits the fifty-foot mark, ends up airborne and lands flat on his back. Unfazed, he jumped to his feet and continued the high-pitched threats. I watched the same painful event several more times until Tiny learned how far fifty feet was. Now he would run to the fifty-foot mark, stop, and go on his rant.
It wasn't long before Tiny realized that cat would always be out of his reach. The next time my neighbor was out on his porch, Tiny sat quietly at his side on the leash. As the cat casually strutted by, Tiny simply stared at it. Then he looked up over his shoulder at his master then back at the cat. Up at his master. Back at the cat. Then his little head slumped down to rest on his paws as he laid down and let out a deep sigh. It seemed the leash had broken Tiny of his will to pursue his quest.
In business, your management approach can create the same outcome. When you fail to trust your employees to make the decisions necessary to carry out their objectives, you have put them on a leash! A constant patrolling of their actions prevents them from instinctively pursuing the directives that you put in front of them. They'll stare at the objective -- stare at their manager -- stare at the objective -- stare at their manager. Waiting for the next command. Waiting for 'approval' to move forward. Waiting for the 'proper' approach to take action. Waiting for the 'right' way to tackle the problem. Waiting for the 'acceptable' solution to the issue. And even worse, in the long run it breaks their will and confidence to act independently.
To develop confident, autonomous employees that produce the results you want there has to be a foundation of trust between you and each employee. Trust is created one interaction at a time so it takes time to build. Just keep in mind; it can be destroyed in a heartbeat. Managerial actions, such as being inconsistent, breaching confidentiality or micromanaging, can shatter the foundation.
The topic of trust always brings up a common managerial inquiry, 'Shouldn't employees have to earn your trust first?' The answer is NO, and the logic is simple. Trust comes with the employment agreement. The employee applied for the job. You interviewed them. You assessed them. You evaluated their skills and talents. You even hired and trained them. Now you have to trust your judgment, your hiring process, your development process and therefore the individual you brought on board. Building trust is a responsibility that starts with the manager.
The goal is to have the employee accountable for the results. You can't hold them accountable if you're holding on to the leash. Remove the leash by giving each employee the resources, skills, knowledge and authority necessary to make the decisions to achieve the desired results. Only then can you can hold them accountable.
Look for opportunities everyday to 'unleash' the potential in your employees. By trusting in their abilities to handle the challenges in your business, you will develop self-reliant, independent productive employees.
Jim Vasconcellos is a professional speaker and author of Living by the Boomerang. He created Boomerang Concepts to inspire audiences to return better results by changing the way they approach life's daily challenges. Jim maximizes the productivity and profitability of organizations by bringing accountability for performance improvement back to the individual using a unique tool. You guessed it -- a boomerang! To book Jim V. for your next conference, call 678-427-5063 or go to http://BoomerangConcepts.com
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